The Poet and The Muse
by CJB95
Summary: Chapter 4 rewritten, more info on page. A story based around Tim McGee, his work starts coming to life and he's the main character. Can he find a way to write his way out of this nightmare, or will he be consumed by the very thing he is trying to control? Inspired by Alan Wake for the Xbox 360. Please read and Review
1. Thom the Poet

**A/N: I am out of practice so if this seems short and dodgy, don't worry. I'll get back into the swing of things and try to make this as best as possible. **_  
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**Characters from the Alan Wake video-game will appear but some locations and incidents will change from how they were in the game. If you've played AW you will recognize the character at the end.  
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**Disclaimer: NCIS is property of CBS and Donald Belisario, and Alan Wake belongs to Remedy Entertainment. The Poet and the Muse is copy-written to The Poets of the Fall and Remedy Entertainment. I am in no way receiving profit for this story or anything on this site.  
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* * *

_There was a crash and suddenly the room was engulfed in a gray fog, thick enough you could cut it with a pen knife. The cause of the explosion was the MCRT on the other side, busting though to take down the big bad. Ah this is crap._

The page was torn from the typewriter and thrown into the nearby waste basket as the author sat with his head in his hands, trying to figure out a way to finish the story he had been working on for the past 2 years, _Deep six: Rock Hollow_.

Tim McGee, who wrote under the Penname Thom E. Gemcity stared at the typewriter before him and tried to put his thoughts into words, but he just couldn't organize them correctly. He wanted the team to come to the rescue like every other time but felt that would be too cheesy, especially since they had few leads earlier in the story.

He stood up and shook his head, "I need some fresh air." he said as his lone companion looked at him from the couch he had taken over. Having seen his master stand up, Jethro immediately thought they were going for a walk and grabbed his leash and ran to the door.

Tim shook his head with a smile and clasped the leash to Jethro's collar, "Okay boy, I suppose we could both do with some exercise." He opened the door then exited his apartment and locked it up.

Jethro had the strangest sensation and immediately stated pulling to the front door with McGee draggin behind. "Heel boy, heel!" he called as the dog worked himself loose from his master's grip and took off toward nearby Silgo Creek Park. _'It's like he caught whiff of a fresh steak or something.'_ Tim thought as he took off after the dog.

He finally caught up to Jethro who was pawing at a oddly colored stone set into the stream bed. Tim grabbed the leash and tried to pull Jethro away but he would not budge. "There's nothing there boy, I'll show you." he said as he rolled up his jeans' legs and waded out into the cool water.

He bent over and picked up the rock then was met by a sudden flash of light and a sudden urge to take a nap. He fell backwards and splashed in the water as he drifted off. The last thing he remembered was seeing a old woman dressed in black wearing a mourning gown looking at him from the other bank.


	2. The First of Many

**DISCLAIMER: I claim no ownership to NCIS which belongs to Belisarius Productions. Thomas Zane and the basic plot and events of this story belong to Remedy Entertainment.  
**

The first thing McGee felt was the soft linen feeling of his sheets and a cold wet doggy nose pressed to his forehead. He cracked his eyes open a little bit and was met with the worried eyes of Jethro. Tim slowly brought himself to a sitting position and scratched the German Shepherd behind the ears to comfort him. Truth was, he didn't remember getting into bed the previous night, or why Jethro still had his leash attached.

Swinging his legs over the edge of the bed he caught a glimpse of his alarm clock, _'Monday, 7:34 am'_ he thought as he stood up and walked to his bathroom. He had just enough time to take a 15 minute shower and grab breakfast before he had to leave for work. On his way to the bathroom he noticed a sheet of paper on his dresser that seemed to be glowing. _'Probably just the sunlight reflecting off of it.'_

16 minutes later Tim walked out of his bathroom nicely groomed and clean. He felt completely refreshed and thought that he had not had a better night of sleep in years. On his way out of his bathroom he caught sight of the paper again, except this time it wasn't on the dresser, it was on the bed next to Jethro who was snoozing. _'Wind probably.'_ he thought as he picked it up and read the small black print:

"Deep Six: Rock Hollow

by.

Thom E. Gemcity"

Tim reread it again and realized it was the title page of his newest book's manuscript. He set it down on his writing desk and noticed that the rest of the manuscript was missing. "I just tyoed it last night...didn't I?" he said aloud as he tried to recall the previous night. He couldn't remember doing anything the previous night and rested upon the conclusion that he had dreamt he finished the story. "Wouldn't be the first time."

Tim refilled Jethro's food and water then grabbed his badge and gun from the table next to his front door. He attached the holster and grabbed his keys, shutting the door behind him.

**NCIS**

Tony strutted into the bull pen with a a bundle of papers and unceremoniously dumped them onto Former Mossad agent and current NCIS Special Agent, Ziva David's desk. "Your turn to sort the mail Probie," he said with his trademark smirk as he sat at his desk.

"Why do I have to do this when it is the mail person's job to sort and distribute our letters?" Ziva asked annoyed as she stood up and sorted through the stack, depositing three envelopes on Gibbs' desk, two on Tony's, 1 on her's and a surprising 5 on Tim's desk. Tony caught sight of this and jumped out of his chair to intercept the envelopes. Ziva had just enough time to pull them out of his grasp, leaving Tony to fall tot he floor and knock over McGee's trash can.

"These are McGee's not yours Tony. Honestly why do you insist on looking through his mail?"Ziva asked as she held the envelopes in one hand above her only for them to be taken by the proper owner of the letters who locked them in his desk.

"Because he can't stand the fact I got more mail then him." McGee said as he sat at his desk and booted up his computer, sparing a glance at Tony who was still face down on the floor. "Thank you Ziva for making Tony look like a fool." he said with a grin.

"Yeah well making me the butt monkey isn't as easy as you think it will be." Tony said dramatically as he stood up and stood the trash can back up. He then put a foot on the top of it and put his right arm in the air and his left on his hip, "You will all rue this day- Ow...sorry boss."

"Yeah just grab your gear, dead Lieutenant discovered in Silgo Creek Park." Gibbs said as he placed his mail in his desk and grabbed his badge and Sig. He put them in their respective places and headed towards the elevator as his team scrambled behind him.

**NCIS**

"You see Mr. Palmer, Thomas Zane is a very little known poet who worked in the 80s to the early 90s. He and his young bride mysteriously vanished when his house and the island it was on succumbed to an explosive reaction from a volcanic eruption in Washington." Ducky said as he checked the dead sailor's liver temp. The question was brought up when Jimmy had found a bloodstained book by and author that he had never heard about.

"Why isn't he more famous? I mean if he had such a prolific career, you'd think he'd be more well known." Palmer said as he checked for other signs of trauma then the large gash on the sailor's head.

"He went mad toward the end of his life and it would seem that all of his work was retracted from print and already owned copies were mysteriously all misplaced. I only knew where mine was because I had left it in a shoebox along with numerous other books." Ducky replied as he looked to the road and saw the MCRT vehicles pull up.

"...record time boss. On another note, don't you live near here McGee?" Tony asked as they climbed out of the Charger. He, McGee and Ziva approached the scene and grimaced at what greeted them.

The body had ligature marks around the throat and a large gash in his forehead that still had a fireman's ax sticking out of it.. The skull beneath looked to be caved in. The death was quick and painless.

"What have we got Duck?" Gibbs asked as he motioned for Tony to take pictures and McGee and Ziva to bag and tag. Gibbs looked down on the scene sullenly and vowed to catch the bastard who had done it.

"Lieutenant Border here was three weeks from retirement and is a resident of DC. The cause of death, as you can already tell, was this ax to the cranium. He was strangled before hand from behind with what appears to be rope or maybe a bungee chord, likely to make sure he was asleep when he was killed."

"He never saw it coming, thanks Duck. Tony got the body on film, you can take him back to autopsy." Gibbs said as he turned away from Ducky and Jimmy puttting the vic in a body bag and looked a this team. Tony was taking pictures, Ziva was arguing with him over something he couldn't hear and bagging evidence, and McGee was tagging a trail of footprints away from the scene towards the creek.

**NCIS**

McGee was placing the markers on a set of foot prints leading from the body to the creek. They appeared to be a woman's size 12 heel. He reached the creek where they abruptly were replaced with combat boot prints. Size 10 and a half. Tim quickly did some conversions in his head and realized the killer must have switched his shoes or her shoes so they'd be harder to trace, but there was no evidence of a bag or bare foot prints anywhere.

McGee turned around and froze. He was here the previous night when he took Jethro for a walk. He did take him for a walk, right? Or was that part of the dream? He couldn't remember but he walked tot he edge of the stream and looked out where he picked up the rock. There was nothing there, not even the rock was in sight. He shook his head and thought he was going mental.

He had faint wisps of the dream from the previous night and he distantly remembered picking up a rock that Jethro was pawing at in the stream and then a flash and nothing..."Was that when I woke up?" he asked aloud when he caught site of a glowing piece of paper nailed to a tree, right where the prints disappeared into the bushes.

He walked over to it and read it then froze, that was his style of stationary. He recognized the watermark on the bottom right of the paper. He tore it from the tree and started to read,

"_The sailor was confused. He heard a woman screaming in distress from_

_this point but when he arrived there was nothing. He called out identifying himself_

_as Lieutenant Border and spun around in a circle trying to find the source of the voice._

_He was too focused on what he was doing to notice the sound of crunching foot prints_

_before he was fighting for air. Someone had snuck up behind him and was now trying to kill him_

_with a length of rope. He tried to fight off his attacker but soon felt his energy leave him_

_as he stopped struggling. The last thing he remembered was seeing a man covered in shadows_

_grinning maniacally at him, clutching an ax._

_**...To be continued**_


	3. Visitors and Coincidences

**AN: As I get deeper into this story the chapters will be becoming more wordy and you may see bigger blocks of text. If you want me to separate them and space them out for easier reading, just tell me in a review. And as always read, review, and hopefully enjoy.  
**

**DISCLAIMER: NCIS and all characters belong to Donald Bellisario and Belisarius Productions. Alan Wake, all related characters, and The Poet and the Muse belong to Remedy Entertainment and the Poets of the Fall.**

* * *

_'This can NOT be happening.'_ Tim thought as he stuffed the page back into his pocket and went to rejoin the others. He tried to compose himself but was too weirded out by what he had just read. It had his watermark, his formatting, his special cobalt colored ink, everything to identify it as his. Then his brain went into overdrive, _'Ok Tim, think this through. Sure, the scene is described, the exact injuries to the body and even the ax, but what are the odds that his last name is Borders? Slim to none, yeah. It's probably just a sick joke concocted by a bunch of teenagers. Yeah, that is it.' _he thought as he tried to reassure himself and entered the clearing.

"Hey boss we found his wallet and ID. Lieutenant Frank Borders, age 37, he turned 38 and could retire next month." Tony said morbidly as he read the vic's information. The mention of his name made Tim's blood run cold and him start feeling nauseous. Tony noticed and called out to him, "Hey Probie, you're looking kinda green around the gills. You alright?"

Ziva noticed as well and looked at him with concern, "Yes McGee, you do not look well." she said as Tim stumbled under the crime scene tape and sat on the bumper of the ME's vehicle.

"Just need a moment guys, been sick all week." Tim said as he wrapped his arms around his stomach. Ducky approached him and told him to climb into the front seat and he'd turn on the AC, after all it was a sweltering 97 degrees outside. Tim meekly nodded and stumbled around the truck with Palmer's help and got into the front seat. True to his word, Ducky turned on the air and left to get the body with Palmer.

Gibbs meanwhile watched in curiosity, though he hadn't shown it. He chalked it up to heat exhaustion but couldn't shake the terrified and wild look in Tim's eyes. He wouldn't confront him yet, just watch from the side lines to see if he showed any more odd symptoms. He then turned back to the scene and barked orders to his two remaining agents to finish up and get what they had back to Abby for processing.

**NCIS**

_**Back at NCIS**_

Abigail Sciuto, known to her friends as Abby, poured over her computer looking for the release date of the new 'Infinity Charged Caf-Pow when she was interrupted by a creepy pressence. She turned around and found an old woman, dressed purely in black wearing a mourning gown and a veil, standing in her doorway.

"Uhm may I help you ma'am?" She asked as she walked towards the person.

"No thanks, just passing through my dear." the woman said as she turned around and walked towards the section of hall way that had the broken circuit and no lights. Abby peeked around the corner to find the woman seemingly morph into the shadows and be gone. She suppressed a chill and turned back into her lab.

She returned to her computer and cast a sideways glance at the 4 empty Caf-Pow cups, "Ok Sciuto, only No-Caf-Pow for the rest of the day." she said, chalking the experience up to her high caffeine content. As she pushed the cups into her trash can, she noticed a brightly illuminated piece of paper on her desk in her lab.

Abby looked at it for a second and decided to see why it was glowing. She arrived at it and found that it had no source of illumination other than the overhead light. She picked it up and it immediately stopped glowing. She studied it front and back then read what was typed on it, only vaguely noticing the "From the desk of TEG" mark in the corner.

_Amy sat at her computer, searching for more information on her favorite_

_drink and addiction. Caf-Pow._

_She had just heard from one of her friends that a new experimental_

_concoction of the sweet drink would soon be in the testing phase_

_and she wanted to see if she could become a taste tester..._

Abby immediately recognized her character from McGee's novels and suspected that Tim was playing a joke on her but she kept reading,

_She was interrupted in her quest by a chill that ran down her spine. _

_She turned around to find an old lady, dressed like a mourner_

_at a funeral. She stared at Amy with soulless looking black eyes and a smile._

"_May I help you?" Amy asked casually, trying to hide her discomfort._

"_No dear, I just took a wrong turn." and with that, the lady was gone,_

_leaving a shaken Amy in her wake. Amy headed out into the hall and..._

Abby was now shaking and refused to read the rest of the paper. If this was a joke it was a very well planned and creepy one. She put the paper in her desk shakily and headed back out to the comforting lab. On her way out of her office though, she grabbed Bert the Hippo and was slightly comforted by his trademark sound. She sat at her desk and decided she would ask McGee about what she just read.

* * *

Barbara Jagger looked upon Abby from the shadows of the lab with a smile. Her plan was working perfectly and she was that much closer to being free.

* * *

McGee shakily entered the bullpen and sat at his desk to read his mail on orders from Gibbs who had accompanied Ducky, Border, and Palmer to autopsy. Tony and Ziva had the task of taking the evidence collected to Abby for processing. He was alone for now.

McGee grabbed the first envelope on the pile and read the name, _Thomas Zane, _McGee thought for a second and concluded that he did not know who Thomas was, so he set it aside and picked up the next envelope. This one had the name, _Printse Tor_ and _Lord Odin_, scrawled in a messy print on the sender field. He immediately knew that was junk considering they misspelled "_Prince_" and Odin was a Norse god. The next read _Washington Tours_ and had a stamp of a cabin on a lake looking like a bird's leg. The last he picked up had his Pen name written in the address field and had no name on it. He set them aside and threw away the one letter with Odin's name on it and put the one about traveling in his desk, he could use a vacation. Eventually.

He was about to open the letter from Zane when he heard a song from earlier on the radio on Tony's desk.

_**There's an old tale wrought with the mystery of Tom  
The poet and his muse  
And the magic lake which gave a life  
To the words the poet used** _

Tim looked at the envelope and distantly remembered over hearing a conversation from earlier that Ducky and Palmer had on the way back about a poet who disappeared named Tom but he couldn't remember the last name so he glanced at the envelope's sender, _Thomas Zane,_ _ "Could it be the same man? Why would he reappear after so long to contact someone like me?__. _He listened as close as he could to the song but instead heard the DJ talking about how the file had been corrupted and they'd try and replay it at a later time. Tim was about to open the letter when he got a call from Abby to get down to the lab ASAP. He set the letter down and headed for the elevator, not noticing a picture of a scuba diver, tacked to his cubicle wall, following him with it's head.

**A/N: As you can see, I am bringing in some of the characters from the game into the show's reality and into my story. Again, I do not own NCIS, Alan Wake, Thomas Zane, Tor and Odin, Barbra Jagger, The Poet and the Muse they belong to CBS and Belisarius Productions, Remedy Entertainment and the Poet's of the fall respectively.**

**Edit: My stories have up to 108 unique hits a day, can I please get some more reviews so I know what the majority likes and doesn't like?  
**


	4. The Light

**Okay, small author's not here. I didn't like the way I wrote the last chapter, I feel like Zane should be an outside force so I changed it to him not appearing, and Abby being kidnapped so Tim would have a catalyst for events to come. I'm also trying to find away to make the manuscript appear better. An suggestions? I was thinking of having him find a pge in the story, having a small excerpt that would move it along, and having a more complete page as another chapter of the stor. It would be like having two stories in one. Good idea? Bad? Tell me in a review and onto the story.**

**Disclaimer:I do not own NCIS or Alan Wake, if I did and Donald Belisario, CBS, and Remedy entertainment didn't, I'd be a rich son of a .. Enjoy!**

Tim exited the elevator and immediately knew something was amiss. Abby's lab was dark, quiet, and Bert the hippo was flung against the refrigerator. He drew his Sig and slowly walked towards the entrance of the lab. He fumbled against the wall from the outside for the light switch but to no avail, the lights appeared shattered. Luckily though, the janitor had left his cart next to the elevator and Tim slid over to it and grabbed the Maglight.

Resuming his position by the door, Tim held the flashlight and his gun as he was taught in FLETC, the light in his left hand with the beam positioned away from his thumb and his weapon on the top, lined up with the beam to act as a guide.

Slowly, ever so slowly, he entered the lab and looked around. There was glass shattered from a window and Abby's machines and computer were all smashed and scattered. "Abby?" Tim called hoping beyond hope that she was ok.

No response. He readied his weapon and headed into Abby's office. He scanned her desk with his light and found 2 pieces of his manuscript. He looked around and setting the light down, picked them up and read,

_'McGregor looked around Amy's lab._

_No sound, not even the hum of her Major Mass Spec._

_He slinked over to the Janitor's cart and grabbed a flashlight then resumed his investigation._

_As he entered he took in the scene with worry ever evident in his mind._

_Amy's machines and computer laid shattered and destroyed around the room,_

_a window's panes were shattered inside. Someone had broken in._

_As he steadied his light on Amy's desk and proceded to swing it around he was _

_met with the janitor, but it wasn't._

_Shadow's clung to him and he appeared as if he was underwater._

_He brought his pipewrench above his head and...'_

It was at this point Tim knew what was going on and barely avoided the wrench slamming into the air right where he was standing. Training his light from the floor McGee refocused his mind on his objective of finding Abby and relalized she must have been kidnapped by the darkness. It was the only explanation for the being in front of him.

Harry Cooper, the janitor, stood staring at him and grinning maniacally. Shadows dripped off of him like rain from a gutter and he readied his wrench again. Tim barely managed to avoid the weapon with another roll out into the lab. He trained his light and brought his gun up to the figure, trying to build up the courage to kill the colleague in front of him. Just as he steadied his hands, a peculiar thing happened.

The flashlight's beam refocused itself into a brighter, more compact beam then was possible from this model of flashlight...and started to burn away the shadows. The monster drew back and in a brief flash was returned to human form, but no less crazy. Tim didn't know what compelled him to, but he fired off 3 shots at Harry and each hit their mark with a sickening noise.

Harry vanished into a mist of blackness with a growl, and the light was restored. Tim looked at his hands and started shaking again. He had just murdered a human being. Sure he was taken by the shadows, but if he focused the light more, maybe he could of burned out the evil. Sickened he leaned back against the wall of Abby's office and slid to the floor, ironically near Harry's wrench.

Tim brought a knee close to his body and rested his forehead against it. _''Abby. What's happened to you?"_ he thought, frightened at the thought that she could have been abducted and turned into one of those..those things. As he wallowed, the un read page drifted to the floor next to his gun hand.

He caught sight of Abby's book-name and the word 'returned' and quickly picked it up, hoping it would reveal how he could get her back.

_'McGregor had done it, the darkness banished back to the stream_

_Amy returned to her friends and family._

_No one but McGregor, Tibbs, Tommy, Lisa and Amy would remember any of it._

_But only 4 would be around to tell the tale._

_In his last act of destroying the menace once and for all, _

_McGregor had been engulfed in the explosion of the clearing and _

_seemingly dead, being the sacrificial lamb so that others may live._

_The survivors searched furiously for him, but only found his writing pipe,_

_his Sig, and a page, partly charred with only two words on it._

_'_**'To be continued"**_'_

**A/N: again, tell me in a review how I should format these things in the future.**

**Also I should really reread what I type...  
**


	5. Ultimatum and Companions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alan Wake or any of it's themes. That credit is to Remedy Entertainment. Nor do I own NCIS or it's related characters or locations. All credit for that belongs to CBS and Donald Bellisario. I also don't own Twin Peaks or Agent Cooper. They belong to David Lynch and Mike Frost.**

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. And for those of you who don't know, I rewrote the last chapter, so please read that then this if you have yet to. As always read/review and enjoy.  
**

* * *

Tim stood up, wavering slightly. If he was to get Abby back, he had to bring his team mates into this. But would they believe him?

"Hey guys, I know it sounds weird but a story I don't remember writing has started coming true." he could imagine each statement he'd be hit by from his team. Tony, _"Hey McCooper, what do you think this is a TV show? I know we live in Washington, but the wrong Washington." _Ziva_, "McGee, it's merely your illness from last week and your writer's block toying with you." _Gibbs, _"This is the real world McGee, get the results of Lt. Borders' tox Screen back from Abby and stop with this supernatural crap."_ Tim Grimaced at the last one. How would he explain Abby's disappearance to the rest of the team if they wouldn't believe his story was coming to life?

Tim muttered something unintelligible and headed for the elevator. Just as he was about to climb in, it had passed his floor from the autopsy heading for the bullpen. He couldn't wait because every minute he wasted would be another where Abby would be getting further and further away.

He spun around and started a mad dash up the stairs towards the bullpen. As he got to the final landing his foot slipped and he slammed his head into the next set of stairs and blacked out.

When he came to he was laying on a cold table in autopsy with Ducky stitching up a gash on his temple. He made to get up and was stopped by Gibbs and Palmer who gently pushed him back down so Ducky could finish.

"You really ought to be more careful Timothy. When I'm done you'll be good as new but you shouldn't have been running up the stairs, hadn't your parents taught you that?" Ducky asked with a small smile to show he wasn't serious. "Any ways, you should be fine. Only a minor cut and maybe some disorientation so you'll have to take it easy."

"Thanks Ducky. Boss has Abby finished the tests?" Tim asked, momentarily forgetting what had happened before having his panic set in and him start to get agitated and itching to move.

Gibbs and Ducky exchanged a worried glance before Giibs answered, "McGee, Abby moved to LA to be a part of their NCIS branch. She cut off all ties with us and we haven't heard any news about her for the past 2 years." He said gently, knowing full well how McGee felt about Abby and also worrying that he had forgotten this bit of information. "The lab tec who replaced her is Brady."

McGee listened and didn't believe what he had heard until his cell started to ring. He drew it out of his pocket he recognized the number as being Abby's, but her Washington area code and not a LA code. Rsalizing what this meant, he quickly excused himself and locked himself in Ducky's storage closet.

Gibbs and Ducky looked at eachother as Palmer silently worked in the background. "Duck, could he really have forgotten something like that from an injury like this?"

"It isn't unheard of Jethro but it is worrying, don't let him be on field duty for a few days to see if things start clicking again for him. After seeing how he reacted after he asked for Abigail, I'm afraid he may have dreamt something that has put him into a mild state of delusion." Ducky answered as he changed his gloves and walked over to Jimmy. "If you'll excuse me Jethro, I have to get this done for the Director."

Gibbs nodded and left the cold room, wondering who would call that would put Tim into that kind of panic.

**NCIS**

"What have you done with Abby?" McGee rushed into the phone as he answered. "If you lay a hand on her, I'll..." he stopped when he heard a cackling forom the other end of the line crossed with a growling laugh.

"Don't worry child. Your mate is safe. But if you want her to stay this way, you better do as we say. Failure to comply could be detrimental to her health." the voice said with an almost audible smirk.

"What do you want?"

"We want the manuscript. All of it, event he pieces that you have yet to write. We look forward to reading those as you cast them out the window in the midst of a ferocious wind. We never got a chance to read our rise to power."

"I don't have the manuscript! I only have pages, I don't even remember writing the damn thing." Tim yelled into the phone agitated. "Give me a week, I will rewrite the whole story and you can have it, but how do I know Abby isn't harmed?"

"Listen for yourself." the voice, who Tim had worked out was the darkness, answered as there was a crackling on the line then a tear streaked woman's voice. "McGee? Help me! Please! Don't give them anythi-" Abby's voice was cut off by a scream as the darkness resumed contact. "She's fine, for now. Get us the pages in 3 days or you'll regret it." and with that, the line went dead.

Tim stared at the phone as he brought it from his ear and stared at it. 3 days to write a whole novel. He couldn't do it and make it air tight, but if he didn't he wouldn't save Abby. That cemented his choice and he rushed out of autopsy, thanking Ducky for the minor operation.

**NCIS**

As this all happened, an unaware Special Agent had found one of the letters Tim had not opened and decided to snoop. What was waiting for him he couldn't comprehend.

"A glowing page?"

_**To be continued...**_


	6. A Friend in Need

_**Disclaimer: I do Not own NCIS, or any of it's related characters. They belong to Donald Belisario and CBS with Alan Wake belonging to Remedy Entertainment.  
**_

_**AN: This is just a short chapter to move along to more action.  
**_

_**Meanwhile**_

Tony Dinozzo drew out the parchment that had caught his eye and found it was a manilla envelope. He flipped the envelope over to see who may have sent it. There was no name, but his name was neatly written in calligraphy on the front. _'Why would one of my letters be given to McGee?'_

Thinking that it must be fan mail from one of his previous girlfriends and that McGee was snooping in his life, he ripped open the seal and drew out a piece of paper. He looked it over and in the bottom right corner was Tim's penname's watermark. Realizing he had just been pranked, Tony read the parchment so that he could, in detail, confront Tim about it later.

"_Tommy looked on increduously as McGregor_

_burned away a tar like substance from the _

_body of their assailant using a flashlight._

_Yeah..._

_McGregor fired off three rounds and to Tommy's_

_amazement, the figure disappeared in a flash _

_of light and a wail._

"_What was that?' He asked shakily as he regained his _

_footing with the aid of a dumpster._

"_The Taken." McGregor answered ominously_

_as he scanned the shadowed end of the alleyway. "And_

_his friends are on their way."_

_A roar startled Tommy and McGregor started to raise his gun again when _

_the light above him exploded with a pop,_

_sending glass shards cascading around them and _

_plunging them into darkness."_

Tony reread the paper confused. Those were his and Tim's novel names, but this didn't look anywhere close to the kind of setting a Deep Six novel would take place in. He picked up the envelope and a picture fell out. It was of a man, maybe a late teen, wearing a SCUBA suit that looked as if it belonged in a museum. He was surrounded by waves and wisps of what looked like tar.

"Well McWriter, this is all very clever," Tony said to the empty squadroom, "but I have a date tonight with a beautiful woman and don't have time to be fooled by your pranks. Also, learn to photoshop better." and with that, he put the letter and picture crumpled slightly on Tim's desk.

He grabbed his bag and coat and took the elevator out of the Naval Yard, looking forward to his buxom blond model he was lucky enough to catch.

**NCIS**

Tim entered the squad room from autopsy and looked for anyone nearby. He noticed an envelope and a letter and picture on his desk. He recognized the formatting in the letter and quickly lurched over to read it. Except there was a time stamp at the bottom of the paper written in the same calligraphy from earlier.

'_8:45 The Diner under the overpass' _

Tim reread that and it clicked. He had to get there before Tony was shredded. He grabbed his Sig and light then rushed out of the building towards his Porsche, hoping he wasn't too late.

As he got in his car he saw that the sun was setting, soon it would be night and he only had 20 minutes to get to Tony before bad things happened. He started his car and turned his headlights on bright then sped off for the diner like a bat out of hell.

As he sped, he glanced at the photo and wondered what it meant. he thought he SCUBA suit but it escaped him where he had seen it before. A dream? A store window? A museum? He couldn't place it and wished that he could, knowing it was integral to the continuing battle against the darkness that threatened to enslave the world.


	7. A Friend in Deed

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alan Wake or any of it's themes. That credit is to Remedy Entertainment. Nor do I own NCIS or it's related characters or locations. All credit for that belongs to CBS and Donald Bellisario. I also don't own Twin Peaks or Agent Cooper. They belong to David Lynch and Mike Frost.**

"Excuse me madam, have you seen a young woman, long flowing blond hair and a Heather Locklear figure around?" Tony asked the woman behind the counter who looked to be on her break.

"No sir but...is your name Anthony? This letter was...given to us... Oh hello sir, may I take your...uhm..Order" the lady said in a detached tone as Tony took the envelope. He shook his head to her question and slowly retreated back outside of the diner, feeling things were getting a little "Twin Peaks-ey". He turned his back to the glass door and tore open the letter, recognizing the perfume of his date.

_ "Around back by the dumpster, I have a surprise that is best not shown to the eyes of every_

_ Tom, Dick, and Harry walking past. _

_ XOXO"_

Tony reread it, then shoved it into his pocket with the biggest grin on his face. "I knew she was dirty but dayum." he said as he descended the steps and headed for the back of the diner. He was about at the alleyway when he heard a woman's scream and what sounded like a tornado or a storm smashing up the trash cans and cars behind the diner.

He drew his Sig, called out his identification and headed back into the well lit alley. He turned a corner and all of the lights surrounding him shattered with a loud "pop", startling him. He quickly looked around and raised his gun at a noise he heard coming from behind what he could barely make-out in the moon light as a dumpster.

"Federal Agent put your hands up!" He yelled as the figure stood at full height, at least 6'5". He saw that the person was carrying a baseball bat and appeared to be...smoking? "Drop your weapon and put your hands in the air!" Tony commanded.

He thought the figure was listening when it suddenly lurched at him with astonishing speed and kicked a dumpster at his head. Tony barely ducked before the bin slammed into the wall beside him and crashed the the pavement. He looked up and barely had enough time to pull the trigger of his gun as the figure sped towards him. The first 3 shots missed, but the fourth connected and the figure let out a cross between a cackle, wail, and a scream and smiled at Tony.

**NCIS**

McGee saw Tony's Mustang parked next to the diner and came to a sliding stop next to it. He was barely out of his car when he heard the wail and identified it as coming from the Alley. _"Alley way? Crap, crap, Crap! Don't let me be too late!" _ he thought as he turned a corner and saw Tony rolling away from the behemoth's bat. "TONY!"

He dive tackled Tony into the safe haven of the sole remaining light bulb in the alley. He then turned on his knee, clicked on his flashlight and focused on the figure, watching the shadow's slowly fade away.

During this Tony just watched on incredulously and then it clicked. This was exactly as he had read...It was coming true! He was about to ready his gun when he saw McGee fire off three rapid shots into the assailant's head, chest and throat, causing it to disappear in a subdued smoke cloud.

McGee turned to face Tony with his mouth open when Tony put up his hand to stop him. "Let me guess," he said as he heard another roar, "that was a Taken. That's more of them and the light above us is going to shatter?" Tony said slightly shaken but not as much as he would've been had he not read the page. As he finished his sentence the light above them cracked and cascaded around the duo.

"Great." they both said in unison as they stood.

**NCIS**

Tony and McGee quickly sprinted down the alley back towards their cars. Behind them, a wave of Taken that they couldn't fight themselves.

As they rounded the final corner into a dim streetlight's embrace they saw something that made their hearts sink. Tony's former Mustang was now crushed and surrounding by a swirling mass of the tar like darkness, McGee's, which had the interior lights and blinkers on, was the only one that was still usable but was behind Tony's.

"My-my- MY CAR!" Tony yelled as he stared at what was formerly his car. He was at a loss for words, partly due to his heart being torn in two when he saw what had happened to his baby, and partly because he was losing hope. He was yanked from these thoughts as he was pulled around the rear of the mass and shoved to the passenger side of Tim's Porsche.

"Get in, I'm going to try and give us some breathing room." Tim said as he clicked open the trunk and drug a tool box from the depths. He quickly unlatched the things sealing the box and drew out a road flare that he had bought three years ago. He then shoved the box back into the trunk, slammed it shut and ran towards the front of the car.

Tony saw him light the flare and pitch it into the mass of Taken following them. It connected directly with a Taken and caught a puddle of gasoline that had drained from his former gas-tank on fire, sending the area into an orange blaze with many howls and wails. Tony opened Tim's door for him as he sprinted back to the car and jumped in. He threw it into reverse, did a nice spin as he backed out of the lot, and clicked the vehicle into drive as he sped away from the dieing flames.

When they were three blocks away Tim relaxed slightly and immediately started to tremble. He had kept the brights on and the interior lights lit. He looked over at Tony who was both awestruck at his friend's new found action hero spirit, and confused with a pinch of Anger at the events that happened less than 2 minutes ago.

"What the hell was that!?"

_**to be continued...**_


	8. A Burning Question

**Disclaimer: I do not own Alan Wake or any of it's themes. That credit is to Remedy Entertainment. Nor do I own NCIS or it's related characters or locations. All credit for that belongs to CBS and Donald Bellisario.**

As Tim recounted the events up until that point and showed Tony the pages he had acquired so far, Tony looked like he was about to throw up. A million thoughts ran through his mind and left him speechless. Every time he attempted to say something all that was let out was silence. Finally after as they passed the local Hard Rock Cafe he said something.

"Does anyone else know about this? Gibbs, Ziva, Ducky? Anyone besides this darkness and now Abby?" Tony asked as he stared through the windshield as it started to get splattered with rain.

"Not yet, but if you read the final page, they will find out eventually." Tim said as he turned onto Tony's street. He put the car in park outside his residence and looked over at the still shaking man.

"Right, I read that...and what happens to you." he caught Tim wince slightly, "But isn't it possible that this is a dream? That someone is playing a really elaborate prank on us?" Tony muttered hopefully, though to his own ears his words sounded hopeless and moronic for their current situation. He was a practical man and just couldn't comprehend how this could be possible.

Tim laughed humorlessly and stared through the now rain soaked glass. "I've thought of that and all possible reasons that I have been thrown into this living hell. There isn't an escape that won't cost me."

Tony shifted uneasily at the hidden meaning behind Tim's words. "What do you mean?"

Tim looked at Tony and smiled sadly "I have to..."

A few miles away, in a small peaceful neighborhood. A wood smith worked on a boat oblivious to everything going on with his two Agents. Only, soon would he realize that ignorance is bliss.

**NCIS**

Gibbs shaved down the deck rail of his newest craft. Climbing off the aft deck, he set his wood shaver on his workbench and looked at the plans. This was his most ambitious work yet and he wanted it to look perfect. A crash from his living room made him quietly reach under his bench and draw out his Sig.

Quietly he loaded it and proceeded up the stairs. When he got there, he saw that his hall light was out and he made a mental note to replace it later.

As he reached his living room he heard a sound like wind and tv static behind him. He quickly spun around and pointed his gun at the source of the noise. Standing before him was a man of about his stature gripping an ax dripping with what looked like water. In the darkness he couldn't see the figures face but could make out blank eyes and a wicked grin.

"Federal Agent, drop your weapon." Gibbs toned out at he readied his gun for a fight.

The figure just let out a cackle and brought the ax above his head and rushed at Gibbs who had barely enough time to get out of the way before the ax buried itself in his door.

Gibbs rolled to a stop in his living room and fired off three shots at the figure...which merely bounced off or were absorbed in the stuff that was dripping off of him. In the muzzle flash, Gibbs coulda sworn they were shadows. But he had no time to ponder this thought as the figure was readying another charge at him.

Gibbs waited till the last second and dove over his coffee table and felt the figure just barely hurl past him. The ax buried itself in his TV. From his position, Gibbs noticed that the figure was hurt by the sparks that didn't even touch him but illuminated the room. He looked around and found a lgihter and a bottle of bourbon he had left the previous night and grabbed them both.

Standing up he hurled the bottle at the figure and in the same instant shot it as it impacted with the man's head, dousing him in alcohol. Gibbs then flicked the lighter open, lit it and chucked it at the figure, setting him alight and causing him to issue a scream.

The figure thrashed around and caught the bourbon that spilled on the floor on fire, soon setting the whole house alight. Gibbs rushed to the front door and closed it on the pursuing figure who'd screams died down into silence.

As the neighbors called the fire department, Gibbs sat against his mailbox and thought about all of what had just happened. A man who absorbed bullets? A man dripping shadows? What the hell was going on?

He stood up and saw a glowing coming from his mailbox. Unsure of what to expect, he drew his gun and pointed it at the door as he opened it and was greeted by a glowing piece of paper.

Seeing no sign of hostility, "From a paper? I'm losing it" He drew it out and read the text neatly typed across the face:

"_**McGregor and Tommy looked at the radio on McGregor's dash and recognized**_

_**the address. Thye quickly started the car and rushed to Tibbs's house and were**_

_**met with a burning shell of what the place originally looked like.**_

_**McGregor saw Tibbs standing by the mailbox and walked up to him.**_

_**Tibbs hadn't noticed him so he called out"**_

"Hey boss, what happened? Are you alright?"

**To be continued...**


End file.
